Monday, November 26, 2012

I hope all of my American readers had a happy Thanksgiving.

My word count was much better last week. I managed to get 2200 on each project despite Thanksgiving, working on black friday, a couple of killer headaches, and The Civil War game. That's still 300 short of my weekly goal on the novel and 800 short on the novelette. I think it's safe to say that I've found my word threshold when it comes to doing two projects at once. They're still good words, they just took a little more effort than normal.

Over the years I've discovered that I can't write when I'm sick, but I can push through a tension headache. I don't like doing it, but I can if the occasion calls for it like it did last week. In addition to becoming a victim of the attack of the killer headache, it was also the Saturday after Thanksgiving which is always a crazy day at work since it's Small Business Saturday, and it was the day of the Civil War Game. So, how did I manage it?

Sheer. Willpower.

When I got home from work I just wanted to curl up in bed, watch the DVR'd game, and be comatose for a few hours. Unfortunately, I also knew how far behind I was (I didn't get nearly as much done Thanksgiving day as I would've liked). So instead of getting comfy I took some painkillers, powered up the laptop and pounded out another 600 while I watched the game. Normally I can't write when the TV is on. It's too much of a distraction. But this time it worked because I could completely focus on the book when the enemy had the ball and take a short break whenever my team had the ball. I may have to employ this technique next year. That way I can watch all of the live games.

About Me

In addition to being a writer I'm the event coordinator at Reader's Guide -- an independant bookstore in Salem, Oregon -- and a (mostly) retired stage actor.
In 2013 I won the Named Lands Poetry Contest with a haiku and in 2014 I went from being unpublished to SFWA eligible in twenty-four hours. My short stories have appeared in multiple volumes of Fiction River, as well in the Eclipse Phase anthology. My debut novel, The Moonflower was released in 2017.
View my full profile for my contact information.